“A huge explosion happened here. We didn’t know the exact type of blast but the sound was very loud. Right after the explosion, ambulances arrived and police blocked off the scene,” said Jahanzeb Khan, a local resident.

The attack took place in in the Pul-e Mahmood Khan area near the Defense Ministry compound, reported euronews. No group has claimed responsibility for the assault yet but it is speculated that the attack may have been carried out by Taliban as the militant organisation has recently increased their attacks against Afghan security forces across the country.

Kabul has not seen any major attacks since early September, when more than 40 people were killed in a series of three incidents over 24 hours.

The recent assault underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan nearly two years after US-led NATO forces formally ended their combat operations.

The attack comes after four Americans were killed on Saturday in a suicide bombing inside Bagram Airfield -the largest US military base in Afghanistan, in a major breach of security. The Taliban had claimed responsibility for the bombing, which left 16 other US service members and a Polish soldier wounded.

Last Thursday, a powerful Taliban truck bomb struck the German consulate in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city, killing at least six people and wounding more than 100 others.